Viejo Tie to Chiquita ride recap w/ Videos

Cleveland National Forest, CA. It may have been closer to Halloween, but Sunday sure felt like Christmas.

When I arrived at the shop Tani was putting the finishing touches on his new Kona Coilair. (6" front and rear.)

Earlier in the week Frank decided it was time to join the full suspension club.

Franks new Coilair:

The ride was a little delayed getting started while we waited for Tani to make the finishing touches:

It was a beautiful day for a ride with temps only reaching into the low 70's.

Of course what's the Viejo Tie trail without the mandatory pictures of the Viejo Tie Boulder?

Mondo rolls the Rogue:

Joel sports his ever reliable ID:

Today three riders would join Aquaholic in the "I rode the Viejo Tie Boulder in Reverse Club."

Joel cleans it:

Mondo gave it a go, but found Darin's touch much more rewarding:

Jerry, out from Colorado, cleans it as well:

Tani cleans the Boulder with the help of a little body english:

The rest of Viejo Tie went without incident.

The highlight from the upper Chiquita section of trail was Tani cleaning the fallen tree with ease. He didn't even use much speed to get over it. Look for it on video later.

The numerous extra credits make lower Chiquita a fun time.

Here Brandi, possibly dwelling on the Bee Gees greatness, forgets to concentrate on his exit.

A little hung up, but he was able to save it:

On to the much photographed rock spine. It's a blast to ride.

Here Frank puts his new Coilair to the test:

Now Tani does the same:

"Crash" Maxwell captures Tani's run from a different angle:Photo by "Crash" Maxwell

Joel's turn:

Jerry:

Fergus:

Our very own "Crash" Maxwell after much inspection gives it a try:

From here, I would follow Tani down the trail. When Tani missed a turn, it was up to Joel to shine. Since he was busy listening to his iPod Nano, we didn't do anymore stopping. He just blew right past the fun stuff, but all for the best since it was starting to get late.

We all made it back safe and sound to the Candy Store.

One last look at Tani's Coilair. Man that TNT stuff really works!

Around 3:30 pm we arrived back at the shop. Another fun Path ride in the books.

Dreamride is a specialty bike store (big $$$$) located in Moab, UT. Folks in the Turner forum are big fans of their work.

The bike is really a Ventana El Chamuco in disguise.

What is the purpose of the weld going down the bottom tube toward the crank? it doesnt' appear to be attaching anything to the tube, it looks like they just laid a bead down the pipe to. . . I don't know . . . add weight?

What is the purpose of the weld going down the bottom tube toward the crank? it doesnt' appear to be attaching anything to the tube, it looks like they just laid a bead down the pipe to. . . I don't know . . . add weight?

x1134x

It's called a gusset, it is used to reinforce the headtube area without having to use thicker tubes on the entire frame.